896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



are a large number of hives in one yard it 

 may be necessary to turn the entrances to 

 the different points of the compass to avoid 

 confusion on the part of the bees. As a 

 general thing the bees should be in the sun 

 up until about 10 o'clock in the morning, and 

 in the shade until 3 in the afternoon. I 

 would, therefore, advise locating the hives 

 under trees where practicable, but not so 

 large as to give too much shade at the wrong 

 time. Apple-trees eight or ten years old 

 make excellent shade. —Ed.] 



they will only be practically unanimous. Let's 

 hear the other suggestions. We do not 

 mean to turn a deaf ear; but when some say 

 one thing and some another we don't "know 

 which way to turn. Yes, tell us more about 

 the shipping-cases, friend A. —Ed.] 



HOLDING HONEY FOR HIGHER PRICE. 



I notice much has been said lately in re- 

 gard to bee-keepers holding back their hon- 

 ey and then rushing it to market later, de- 

 pressing prices unduly. Now, I wish to say 

 that we common bee-keepers are not wholly 

 to blame for this state of affairs. Last Oc- 

 tober the writer' had about 3000 lbs. of fine 

 white honey, and, not being able to sell near 

 home, he wrote a prominent wholesale deal- 

 er in regard to the sale of it, and was given 

 encouragement to ship to him. The honey 

 was sent, and arrived m perfect condition in 

 October; but in March the bulk of it was 

 still unsold, and I have not heard from it 

 since. I have had several chances to sell it 

 since it was sent away. The facts are sim- 

 ply these: The honey-dealer accepted all the 

 shipments he could get, and then could not 

 dispose of them except at a great sacrifice. 



J. Blackman. 



Nevada, Iowa, Aug. 23, 1904. 



[We are aware that more than one cause 

 has led to the low prices and depressed mar- 

 ket. For some reason not apparent, the de- 

 mand for table honey, at least in the East, 

 seems to be confined to the months of Au- 

 gust to December. Now, bee-keepers must 

 take the market at its laest if they would 

 handle their product satisfactorily. A poor 

 article can be disposed of much better while 

 there is an active demand than later. While 

 the better grades will sell on a downward 

 market, we think it much better to dispose 

 of them also while there is an active de- 

 mand. Perhaps it would be well for bee- 

 keepers to use their best efforts to help the 

 honey-market by the distribution of suitable 

 printed matter, etc., when the slack season 

 comes, immediately after the holidays, and 

 see if the so-called slack season can not be 

 made better. Who can give us some good 

 ideas for this work?— Ed.] 



NO-DRIP CLEATS SHOULD BE THICKER. 



Frequently have I thought of writing you 

 that no-drip" cleats should be % inch thick; 

 but so constantly am I reminded how hard it 

 is to make men hear, I have not done so. 

 Perhaps I ought to be thankful you have 

 heard Mr. Burnett. May his words bear 

 good fruit! I might tell something more 

 about shipping-cases. A. B. Anthony. 



Sterhng, 111. 



[Let us hear from others. Bee-keepers 

 and the trade can have what they want if 



WILL SHE BE A DRONE-LAYER? 



Have you ever had a colony of bees hived 

 on full sheets of foundation, and built up to 

 a good colony, in which the queen would lay 

 drone eggs in worker-cells, and at the same 

 time have lots of worker brood? A neigh- 

 bor has such a queen. She was hatched this 

 year, and the colony is all her bees. I 

 thought it rather peculiar. 



H. E. Crowther. 



North Kingsville, Ohio. 



[This queen may be failing, and eventual- 

 ly may become a drone-layer. Cases of this 

 kind have been on record before, and it is 

 usually advisable to supersede them with 

 something younger and better. — Ed.] 



WINTERLNG OUTDOORS IN CHAFF HIVES VS. 



WINTERING IN A CELLAR WHERE IT 



IS LIABLE TO FREEZE. 



Would you advise me to use a chaff-pack- 

 ed hive, and winter on the stand, or a single- 

 walled hive and remove to a cellar or else- 

 where? Our cellar is rather damp, but not 

 wet, and inclined to freeze during winter; 

 also our nights are cool, especially during 

 the spring and fall months. One has told 

 me the moths would drive my bees out if 

 kept in chaff hives. I favor the chaff hives. 



I have but one colony, and my aim is to 

 increase them as much as is reasonable the 

 first year, then rear strong colonies for hon- 

 ey production in comb. 



Why will bees winter successfully out of 

 doors with the thermometer at zero, and in 

 the cellar it must not reach the freezing- 

 point? 



What is the best way to increase my bees? 



Sioux Falls, S. D. F. B. Hill. 



[In your circumstances I would by all 

 means advise wintering outdoors in chaff 

 hives. A cellar that can not be kept above 

 the freezing-point is a very poor place indeed 

 to winter bees. We have secured the best 

 results here at Medina with a uniform tem- 

 perature of about 45 degrees. If this can 

 not be readily maintained, better winter out- 

 doors providing the bees are packed good 

 and warm in double-walled chaff hives. 



Why bees can stand zero temperature out- 

 doors and not a freezing temperature in a 

 cellar is a query that has often arisen in my 

 own mind, and I think we can account for 

 it almost entirely on the ground of ventila- 

 tion. Where air is poor, the temperature 

 must not go below forty. When pure and 

 fresh it may go much below, or even down 

 to zero; but if the temperature is liable to 

 remain at the zero point for a month or six 

 weeks outdooi's continuously, without a warm 

 spell intervening, the outdoor-packed hives 

 should be protected by windbreaks (better 



